


Shuttlecraft Three

by cosmic_llin



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Flying, Minor Canonical Character(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-14
Updated: 2011-09-14
Packaged: 2017-10-23 18:12:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/253360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_llin/pseuds/cosmic_llin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ro Laren's determination to be in a bad mood quails in the face of Sonya Gomez.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shuttlecraft Three

**Author's Note:**

  * For [babel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/babel/gifts).



It began, as so many episodes in Ro Laren's life did, with an argument. Or at least, half of an argument.

 

She'd had six or seven replies from Lieutenant Gomez down in Engineering, and still nothing had been done about Shuttlecraft Three. Every reply was polite, apologetic – sometimes they even had little smiley faces – but with every one, Laren just got madder and madder. What was Gomez doing composing cheerily apologetic notes to her, when she ought to be concentrating on fixing the damn shuttle?

 

So one afternoon, at the end of a Bridge shift spent sitting quietly doing nothing at the conn, becalmed while around her the science stations buzzed with activity, she went down there herself to see what the hell was going on.

 

Lieutenant Gomez looked up from an enormous stack of reports to smile widely at her.

 

'Ensign Ro, isn't it?' she asked.

 

'I've asked half a dozen times for Shuttlecraft Three to be moved up the safety inspection roster,' Laren said without preamble, 'and it's still sitting there in the repair bay, out of commission – what's the problem?'

 

'Well, like I said in my replies to your messages,' said Lieutenant Gomez, 'we're prioritising the shuttles that either have a greater capacity or that have had a refit more recently, because they should be easier to get out of the way, and make the whole thing go quicker. Shuttlecraft Three is generally much less used and it still has the old-style controls that most of the pilots don't like, and its design is one of the ones being phased out over the next three years. I actually think it's a shame, if you ask me they're throwing the baby out with the bath water, those old Mk IVs have some really good design features and they've proven to be responsive in a tight spot, but, well, progress marches on and we need to...'

 

'How long?' Laren demanded.

 

Lieutenant Gomez stopped, mid-flow. 'Pardon?' she said. 'Oh – two weeks, easily, if not three, I'm afraid. I wish I could be more help. I'm juggling so many maintenance schedules you wouldn't believe, every department is taking this extended stop planetside as an opportunity to clear out the cobwebs.'

 

'If it's three weeks, then Shuttlecraft Three won't be spaceworthy before we leave!' Laren said, slamming her palm down on the Engineering table.

 

'I'm afraid not,' said Gomez, with a sympathetic smile. 'I wish I could help, I really do. If you just need to log some piloting hours, there are two shuttles out of safety inspection now, I could see about getting you added to the schedule?'

 

Laren shook her head. 'This is ridiculous! All I want to do is fly that damn shuttle! This whole department is a mess! I'm going to speak to Commander La Forge about this!'

 

Gomez nodded. 'If you have any suggestions about how we could improve efficiency, I know Geordi is always very receptive to feedback.'

 

Laren stared at her. Gomez looked back, placidly. If she was being sarcastic, Laren couldn't tell.

 

'Oh, forget it!' Laren growled, and stalked away, leaving Gomez to her rosters and schedules.

 

* * *

 

The next day was even more dull – they were sitting in orbit of a planet which was, by all accounts, fascinating when it came to flora, fauna, geology and everything else the science departments got so excited about – but there was nowhere to fly to, and nothing for the conn officer to do.

 

As the day wore on, Laren grew more and more impatient. There was really no reason for her to even be on the bridge. Hell, they could let Alexander Rozhenko drive and it wouldn't make the slightest difference. She drummed her fingers on her console and ignored the conversation of the other senior officers.

 

When the bell sounded the end of the watch, she didn't even nod to the younger ensign who took her place, leaping from her seat and darting to be first into the turbolift.

 

* * *

 

'It's unfair, and it's a stupid system!' Laren told Guinan, two minutes later, at the bar in Ten Forward.

 

Guinan just nodded in her usual placid manner.

 

'I could organise that inspection schedule a lot better than she's been doing!' Laren insisted.

 

'Perhaps,' said Guinan.

 

'What, you think I couldn't?'

 

'I think,' said Guinan, 'that lots of things look simple until you try them. And I think that, if you really knew Gomez, you might be surprised.'

 

'What?' Laren asked. 'Quit being enigmatic and just tell me, if there's something I don't know.'

 

Guinan shrugged. 'I don't know what goes on down in Engineering, I couldn't tell you whether or not Lieutenant Gomez does a good job with the inspection schedule. I do know that when she comes in here to relax, it's not at end of shift, it's three or four hours later. And I know that she comes from the repair bay.'

 

Laren frowned at her. Guinan gazed evenly back.

 

* * *

 

The repair bay contained three shuttles, and should otherwise have been empty. None of these craft were due for their inspections until at least next week. But there was a sound coming from Shuttlecraft Three. Someone was talking, a quiet but steady monologue.

 

Laren walked closer.

 

'... and I'm just going to recalibrate your inertial dampening control subsystem,' someone was saying within. 'It takes about five minutes and you don't need to do anything. But once I'm finished we'll know for sure that subsystem wasn't damaged in the energy wave, and we'll be well on the way to getting you back into operation.'

 

Laren coughed. The talking stopped, and after a moment a head peeked out through the shuttle's door.

 

'Ensign!' Lieutenant Gomez said. 'Checking up on me?'

 

'Don't be ridiculous,' Laren said.

 

Gomez grinned. 'I was only teasing. Come to visit the shuttle?'

 

'No! I mean...' Laren shrugged, 'Something like that, I guess.'

 

'Hey, it's ok,' Gomez said. 'I know it's easy to get attached. Geordi laughs at me for having a favourite anti-grav unit, but I swear it likes me better than any of the others.'

 

Laren said nothing.

 

'Oh, and now you think I'm crazy too,' Gomez continued. 'That's ok. It doesn't bother me. I'm sure a lot of people secretly feel the same way I do, I'm just the only one who'll say it aloud. I just think it's weird to spend our whole lives interacting with, relying on, living inside machines and not having some sort of feelings about them one way or another. Don't you think?'

 

'I guess so...' Laren said.

 

'Well, you must agree to some extent, or else you wouldn't care so much about this shuttle,' Gomez said. 'It seems like it must be pretty special to you.' She paused, considering. 'At least, it _better_ be special to you, or else why am I spending my off hours here trying to fix it for you?'

 

'Your... your off hours?' Laren asked.

 

'Sure,' said Gomez. 'I told you it wouldn't be coming up for inspection for at least another two weeks, and you looked so sad that I thought I'd make a project of it, so I've been coming here in the evenings doing a few scans, just to get ahead, you know.'

 

'I don't know what to say...' Laren said.

 

'Well, a “thank you” is traditional,' said Gomez, 'but I'll take whatever comes.'

 

'Thank you,' said Laren.

 

'You're welcome,' said Gomez. 'Hey, could you hand me that hyperspanner?'

 

Laren passed it to her, and, awkwardly, picked up a tool of her own and began to make a few scans.

 

'If you want to help, start with the propulsion systems,' Gomez said. 'I didn't get to them yet. Propulsion is my favourite, and I was saving it until last, but I don't mind letting you do it, since you're so keen to get the shuttle going. Say, didn't I see you at the Vulcan poetry reading last week? What did you think?'

 

Laren shrugged. 'I don't much like poetry.'

 

'Oh, that's a shame! Vulcan poetry especially really is beautiful once you get into it. The cadences... it's just wonderful. But it's an acquired taste, I'll grant you that. They say it's easier to start with Andorian poetry and work your way up, but then I haven't read any myself, so I can't speak to that, but I do think...'

 

Laren worked steadily, and half-listened, and in spite of herself began to nod and make encouraging noises in the right places, and ask questions. She doubted that Gomez would notice if she didn't. She talked and talked until Laren was exhausted.

 

'Drink?' Gomez asked, when they finally stopped working.

 

Laren pleaded a headache, which was almost true, and they separated, Gomez humming as she went off down the corridor.

 

* * *

 

The next evening Laren was reluctant to go back and face the same onslaught as the night before, but it seemed churlish not to help with the shuttle now that she knew Gomez was spending her own free time on it, and so when her Bridge shift ended, she presented herself in the repair bay.

 

'Oh, hi!' Gomez said. 'I wondered if you'd be back! Listen, I'm sorry if I talked a lot last night, I do have a habit of doing that, especially when I'm excited. I'll try to tone it down, huh?'

 

'No, that's fine...' Laren managed, without much enthusiasm.

 

'So how was your day?' Gomez asked. 'Did you take part in the security drill?'

 

'Yes,' said Laren. 'Lieutenant Worf was very pleased.'

 

'Oh, that's good, I know everyone was a bit anxious about it,' Gomez said. 'Do you get nervous before drills? I always do.'

 

'A little,' Laren conceded. 'I am kind of glad it's over.'

 

'You do look a little tense,' Gomez observed. 'Listen, once we've done a couple of hours here, I've got this amazing new holodeck program, got it from a friend just last week, it's a moonlight sail on Lake George, it's very relaxing, apparently. Could be just what you need!'

 

'Oh, I... I don't really like the holodeck,' Laren said. 'But thanks.'

 

They worked and talked (or at least, Gomez did, and Laren contributed now and then) until it was late, and walked to the crew deck together.

 

'Well, this is me,' Laren said, when they reached her quarters. 'Thanks again, Lieutenant.'

 

'See you tomorrow!' Gomez said. 'And please, call me Sonya.'

 

'Goodnight, Sonya,' Laren said.

 

* * *

 

Two days after that, Laren entered the repair bay and clapped her hands to her ears, startled and confused.

 

'Sonya!' she called. 'Sonya, what the hell is that noise?'

 

She strode up and rapped her knuckles on the window of the shuttle, and after a second the noise stopped and Sonya peeked out. She giggled.

 

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I forgot you'd be here soon – I had it a little loud, didn't I?'

 

Laren frowned. 'What was it?'

 

'A human composer, Elvis Presley,' Gomez said. 'So, you like music?'

 

'Not _that_ music,' Laren said, witheringly. 'But my father played the belaklavion.'

 

'Oh, I love Bajoran music!' Gomez said. 'What are your favourites?'

 

'You've _heard_ Bajoran music?' Laren asked.

 

There followed a long conversation about the merits of various composers, and Laren did not even realise until later, when Sonya had walked her home, that she had held forth for something like ten minutes on the subject of traditional folk songs, and had even sung one, as an example.

 

'I guess Lieutenant Gomez isn't the only one who can talk,' she said to the replicator, as she programmed it for a bedtime drink – and then blushed as she realised what she was doing.

 

* * *

 

The next evening, Sonya surprised Laren with a gift of some rare recordings she'd managed to get hold of, of some performances of Bajoran music.

 

'Let's put them on while we work,' she suggested.

 

The soft, dreamy swells of Tor's Third Symphony, the yearning strings and hopeful woodwinds, were not the ideal accompaniment to hard work, but it was nice to listen to anyway. They worked steadily for an hour or two, before Sonya suggested a break, and they sat in the piloting chairs, eating chocolates which Sonya had produced with a flourish, and talking about a new novel that was becoming very popular in the fleet. The conversation wound to a pleasant pause, and Sonya turned to look at Laren.

 

'Listen,' she said, 'you don't have to tell me if it's something you'd rather keep to yourself, but... why do you care so much about this shuttle anyway? There are three others out of refit that you could book if you just want to log some piloting hours.'

 

It seemed natural to tell Sonya all about it, so she did.

 

'It's not just the shuttle,' she began. 'Well – it is, actually. Partly. I love the panoramic window, it makes you feel as though you're really flying, and the old-style controls are so responsive, so immediate – it's much better than just pushing buttons. Flying a ship like this feels like work. When you take her somewhere, you feel like you've earned it. It's... it's thrilling. And I guess, it's because this was the ship I took my proficiency tests in, back when I was first assigned to the Enterprise. And it was the first time anyone had let me fly a shuttle since... well, since a long time. And I'd missed it so much, that feeling of being out there, just you and the stars, nothing to worry about except getting where you were going, keeping the ship on course. And now I like to take her out whenever I can, just to remember that feeling.'

 

Sonya squeezed her hand. Laren squeezed back.

 

'I guess it's a little ridiculous,' she said. 'It's just a shuttle.'

 

Sonya smiled. 'You're a very interesting person, Ro Laren.'

 

Laren just laughed.

 

* * *

 

When they finished working that evening, they walked slowly back to Laren's quarters, lingering outside to chat for ten minutes or so.

 

'Well, I'd better go in, I have an early shift tomorrow,' Laren said at last. 'Enjoy the rest of your...'

 

And she stopped, because Sonya kissed her. Not a long kiss, just a brief brush of the lips, a question. Then she pulled away a little.

 

Laren stared at her.

 

'What are you doing?' she asked.

 

'Kissing you?' Sonya said.

 

There was a pause.

 

'Look, I'm sorry if I misjudged the situation,' Sonya began, 'I only...'

 

'You sure did misjudge the situation,' Laren told her, and her heart thudded in her chest and suddenly she felt unpleasantly warm and knew she was blushing. She opened her mouth to speak again, but too many words fought to be spoken, and after standing open-mouthed and stupid for a few seconds, she huffed, and ducked into her quarters without another look at Sonya.

 

Ten minutes later, she stopped pacing and growling, and thought about it. Invitations to Ten Forward and the holodeck. Music, chocolates, flattery... walking her to her quarters...

 

'I'm an idiot,' Laren said aloud.

 

It had never really happened to her before, she'd never been... _courted_. Usually she made it clear when she wanted someone and it just sort of happened, and then it _had_ happened, and that was that. Romance didn't come into it. Gifts and compliments and long talks about music didn't come into it. That was the sort of thing that happened to people not Ro Laren.

 

Nobody had told her she would feel so awkward about it.

 

* * *

 

Three days passed. Laren got another reprimand for talking back to Riker. It was so hard not to when he was so smug. She made a junior enlisted man, on his first tour, cry. She sat in Ten Forward and glared at people who were enjoying themselves, until they stopped it. She stomped around her quarters feeling sorry for herself and not quite knowing what she ought to do about it.

 

On the third night, she got a message from Sonya. Not even a page on the comm, but a text message to her console. All it said was:

 

_Shuttle's ready. Sorry about the other day. x_

 

So she'd finished the work anyway. Laren hadn't expected her to, but now that it had happened, she wondered why not.

 

* * *

 

Sonya wasn't there, twenty minutes later when Laren arrived in the repair bay. The fluttering of her heart slowed a little.

 

It was relief, definitely. Not disappointment. She just hadn't wanted any more awkwardness, that was all. So it was good that Sonya wasn't here. Because she didn't even want to see her.

 

Still, it didn't seem polite not to thank her for all her hard work.

 

* * *

 

Sonya had fallen asleep halfway through a paper on a new technology, bio-neural gel packs, and the PADD lay on her stomach, falling with a clatter to the floor when the chirp of her commbadge woke her.

 

'Gomez here?' she asked.

 

'Sonya,' said Laren, 'come to the shuttlebay.'

 

'What's wrong?' Sonya asked.

 

'Nothing's wrong. Just come to the shuttlebay, now.'

 

'I'm not in my uniform...'

 

'Doesn't matter.'

 

So Sonya threw on a pink robe over her pyjamas, didn't even take her hair down from the braids she wore to sleep in, and slipped her feet into her shoes.

 

When she got to the shuttlebay, there was no sign of Laren, but Shuttlecraft Three sat pointing towards the launch doors, gleaming.

 

'Ro to Gomez,' her commbadge said.

 

'Gomez here...'

 

'Get inside already, we have clearance to take off in two minutes and I need you aboard before I can do the preflights.'

 

'Really?' Sonya asked.

 

'Yes, really, now hurry up!'

 

Sonya scuttled across the bay, pigtails flying, and shot through the door into the craft. The door hissed closed behind her. Laren was sitting in the pilot's seat, going through the pre-flight checks. She turned and smiled, a little awkwardly.

 

'It seemed only fair that you should get to be here,' she said. 'You did put in a lot of work.'

 

'Where are we going?' asked Sonya.

 

'For a ride,' said Laren.

 

The moment the bay doors opened she powered up the engines, and the shuttle flung itself out into space, wheeling away from the Enterprise and into the darkness. Laren turned the lights and the inertial dampeners down low.

 

'It feels like really flying!' Sonya gasped. 'Not like on a starship! It feels like we're really out here!'

 

'I know!' said Laren.

 

'Is it supposed to be this bumpy?'

 

'Yes!'

 

They tore past a scattering of space debris that rattled on the hull. They whirled in circles until the stars spun past, Laren pushed the impulse engines as far as they could go and the shuttle dashed across the starscape faster than anything had ever been before. Sonya cheered. Laren did too.

 

Laren powered down the engines, at last, and the stars juddered to a stop, resolving from glowing streaks into twinkling specks on the darkness. Sonya shook her head.

 

'Dizzy?' Laren asked, and she put a warm hand on Sonya's shoulder.

 

'Only a little,' Sonya gasped.

 

Laren smiled at her. Sonya smiled back. They held there for a moment and then Laren took Sonya's hand, pulled her nearer, and kissed her thoughtfully, lingeringly on the lips.

 

'Listen... I'm sorry about before,' she said. 'I don't think I meant it. And... well... I don't really know anything about romantic gestures, but,' she jerked her head at the sparkling panorama through the window, 'I heard there are supposed to be stars.'


End file.
